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“I’ll take you up on that later. As soon as this lot clears out.”

“Excellent, I’ll join you.”

“Um, Enid, we need to find a place to stay for the night. You need to stay reasonably sober.”

“Nonsense, you’re staying right here,” Bessie exclaimed, as if Carmen had just said the stupidest thing possible. “We have two extra rooms and the couch pulls out.”

Carmen was grateful for the warm welcome, but she was also aware that things with Molly might not go how Faith planned, and if that were true, staying in the same house wasn’t appropriate.

“Stop worrying,” Mateo whispered. “It will be fine. Please, Hermana, relax.”

The sound of tires on the gravel pulled everyone’s attention. In strolled a very dapper young man. His hair was pitch black and swept stylishly back. “Hello everyone. I didn’t know we were having guests, Bess.”

“Micah, how did the interview go?”

“Nailed it,” he grinned. “I start next week.”

Rapturous applause broke out, and Lisa, Courtney, and Bessie swarmed Micah. Carmen and Mateo exchanged a smile.

“That’s it. We need to celebrate. Micah’s new job and Molly meeting her niece,” Bessie sang.

“Molly has a niece?” Micah asked.

“Yeah, long story,” Carmen smiled. “Hi, I’m Carmen and this is my brother Mateo.”

“Hey, nice to meet you.”

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Enid barked. “I’m Enid Butcher, pleasure to make your acquaintance, young man.”

“You too,” Micah laughed. “I’m Micah, they/them.”

“Alright, how does pizza sound this evening?” A deafening round of agreement echoed through the kitchen. “Lovely. Now you lot get your chores done. Let us old folks have a quiet five minutes.”

The three teens smiled, kissed Bessie on the cheek, and waved goodbye. “They seem like great kids,” Mateo remarked.

“They are. All of them have done so well. You wouldn’t have recognized Micah if you’d met them when they first turned up.”

“Are the kids referred?”

“Yes, we work with a couple of shelters in the city. We do what we can, but there is always more demand than we can accommodate. That’s the part of this job I hate.” Bessie rapped her knuckles on the table. “But we do what we can, and for kids like those four, it’s worth the heartache.”

“You’re doing a fantastic job. If we hadn’t been there to take Faith in, I hope she would have been able to find a place like this.” Carmen hated the thought of Faith being anywhere but with them. That led her thoughts to Molly and the time she must have spent in shelters after her brother disowned her. Reaching out instinctively, Carmen took Mateo’s hand. It was times like this she was so grateful to have him by her side.

“Thanks sweetheart, it’s nice to hear sometimes.”

“How are those sandwiches coming along?” Mateo asked, earning a slap upside the head from Enid.

???

The sandwiches were eaten, and the kitchen tidied. Carmen and Mateo accepted a tour around the house from Micah, who kept looking at Mateo’s ass every five seconds. Keep dreaming, Micah.

With the sun setting, Carmen got antsy again. Molly and Faith were still outside talking. Carmen spotted them walking through one of the fields earlier. They seemed to be doing okay. Faith’s body language was relaxed. If only Carmen could feel the same.

As the pizza delivery guy dropped off eight large pizzas, Faith and Molly finally came inside. Both faces showed signs of crying. Carmen swiftly made her way to Faith. “Hey, you okay?”

Faith pulled Carmen into a fierce hug. “I’m great. Thank you, Carmen, for keeping your promise.”

“You’re welcome, kid,” Carmen smiled, her chin resting on Faith’s head. Molly stood a few feet away smiling, and Carmen felt her belly tingle.